Match Preview - Albion Rovers

Oli Anderson previews tomorrow’s match against Albion Rovers.

This weekend East Fife host Albion Rovers at MGM Timber Bayview Stadium for the last home game of the cinch League Two Season. Last Week, the Fifers succumbed to a 1-0 loss away to Dumbarton, battling well on a very tricky playing surface. Both sides missed a penalty in the game, and a goal from Defender McNiff was enough to seal the win.

Despite the gulf in places between the two teams in the league (with East Fife holding onto the final League One Playoff place, while Albion Rovers find themselves in the relegation playoff spot), this will be an incredibly close encounter, with every point crucial for our promotion hopes, as well as their survival chances. The Coatbridge outfit are coming off the back of a 3-1 win against East Fife’s playoff rivals Stenhousemuir, with a Joe Bevan brace bedding the Warriors at the Reigart Stadium last week.

Form

Albion Rovers have picked up 6 points in their last 6 games, putting on performances which have not been shy of goals in recent weeks. They have won twice and been on the losing end of the result on the other 4 occasions. Their points came from their victorious battle against the Warriors last week, and a 3-0 destruction of Elgin City on matchday 32. Their losses have come at the hands of other strugglers, Stranraer and Bonnyrigg Rose, where they lost 1-0 on both occasions at home. They also fell to Forfar Athletic at Station Park 2-1 in a valiant effort. Ray McKinnon’s men were forced into a second half comeback to overcome Albion Rovers. Their final loss came a fortnight ago when they were dismantled 4-0 by Annan Athletic. Their final game of the season is against newly crowned champions Stirling Albion next week.

East Fife’s last 6 games have seen them pick up just 8 points, where despite outplaying the opposition at times, the Methil Men have been unable to capitalise. They have recorded 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in recent weeks. Our wins came in emphatic fashion, with a routine win over Elgin City, during our edition of Friday Night Football some weeks ago, before the more impressive result, an 8-0 humiliation of a poor Stranraer side. The latter gave the Fifers their biggest ever win at Bayview Stadium, as well as their biggest league win since 1963. The two draws came from teams on the opposite ends of the table, as we played out a 1-1 draw with then bottom of the table Bonnyrigg Rose at New Dundas Park 6 weeks ago, and a 2-2 draw with the Binos at Forthbank. This proved to be an important point enroute to Stirling Albion’s first league title since 2010/11. The defeats came last week against Dumbarton, where we missed out 1-0 in a close encounter, and also at the start of April where we fell to a last-minute goal against Annan Athletic.

Last Week

East Fife made their second trip to the Rock this season to play second placed Dumbarton, in what ended up being a very dull affair. Neither side played like they deserved to win, in a performance which was a stark contrast to the way the Fifers played last week, when they demolished Stranraer 8-0.

Sons Kalvin Orsi had a stand out performance, putting in a great shift on the right wing. He brought Dumbarton their first and only real chance of the first half, after just 4 minutes had past cutting inside from the right wing, giving himself some space and firing off a shot which was denied by the woodwork. That was the only real piece of action in the first half, as East Fife sat deep and looked to hit Dumbarton on the break.

Half Time: Dumbarton 0-0 East Fife

At the start of the second half, East Fife showed their quality, attacking with pace and flair, although they were struggling to do any real damage in the final third. That was until the 55th minute when Scott Shepherd was brought down inside the box, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot.

Youngster Alex Ferguson stood over it, with regular penalty taker Alan Trouten on the subs bench. Unfortunately for the Methil Men, Ferguson’s penalty was at perfect height for Brett Long, who guessed the right way and kept it out to keep the score level. This knocked the wind out of East Fife’s sail and spurred on Dumbarton, proving to be the turning point in the matchup.

Dumbarton got their lead after 73 minutes of football, piling on the pressure after the penalty miss for what could only be described as 20 minutes of domination. The ball was played into the box after a set piece, and Connor McManus was left marking 2 Dumbarton players, including Martin McNiff, who picked up the ball, beat McManus and drilled his shot past Fleming.

Things went from bad to worse for East Fife, as a miscommunication between Sam Denham and Allan Fleming let target man Russell McLean in on goal, though Fleming done well to keep the score line just 1-0.

In the 89th minute, Dumbarton were awarded a dubious penalty after East Fife’s Sam Denham put in a fantastic challenge. Karma played its course however, and Allan Fleming made a great save to keep it out.

In the final minutes of stoppage time, East Fife had their chance, Jack Healy burst away from Arron Lynas, giving the Fifers a 3 on 2 advantage against Gregor Buchanan and ‘keeper Brett Long, though rather than playing the square ball, for a guaranteed goal, Healy tried to beat the goalie from close but hit it right at Long.

The everchanging cinch League Two Table: 

Position	Team	Played	Points	GD
1.	Stirling Albion	34	70	31
2.	Dumbarton	34	61	11
3.	Annan Athletic	34	50	11
4.	East Fife	34	47	4
5.	Forfar Athletic	34	45	-6
6.	Stenhousemuir	34	44	-3
7.	Stranraer	34	41	-16
8.	Bonnyrigg Rose	34	38	-14
9.	Elgin City	34	37	-16
10.	Albion Rovers	34	36	-2

Squad News

Aidan Quinn has returned to fitness and is available for selection this weekend. This gives Greig McDonald a fully fit squad to pick from for the first time in months.

Previous Encounter

The last time the two sides met, East Fife came out on top. Toppling the Coatbridge outfit at the Reigart Stadium, for the second time this season.

The action started quickly, as the opening, and winning goal, came just after 5 minutes of football. St Johnstone loanee Alex Ferguson glided past two Albion defenders and slotted an inch perfect through ball to Ryan Schiavone, who fired past Leighfield with ease.

Fife then settled into the game well, and marshalled the game from the back, particularly Aaron Steele who after he found his feet, completely nullified Albion Rovers’ star man Charlie Reilly.

East Fife were very effective playing on the counter with the composed backline clearing up every half-chance which came for the Rovers. Their best chance since the goal came shortly before the half time whistle, an East Fife corner whipped in by Aidan Denholm found the feet of Sam Denham, but his shot was only good enough to cannon off of goalkeeper Leighfield’s chest.

Half Time- East Fife 1-0 Albion Rovers.

The second half was certainly more favourable for Albion Rovers. The hosts created several chances at the start of the half and were unlucky not to draw level in the early stages.

Their first chance came from a corner kick, which was not able to be cleared. After a muddle in the box, a shot was fired towards goal, but Schiavone was there to poke it off the line at the very last second.

Just before the hour mark, Albion had another golden opportunity, a cross came in from Charlie Reilly, and bobbled along the goal line, whistling past both posts on its way past.

10 minutes later, the Rovers had a free kick from the corner of the 18-yard box, though the cross came in and passed through everyone.

The 80 minute marked the return of long-term absentee Conor McManus who came onto the park and played like he had never been away with his composure.

Into stoppage time, substitute Scott Shepherd was played over the top and eventually brought down inside the box, leaving referee Scott Lambie no choice but to point to the spot. Scott Shepherd stood over the penalty himself, but Leighfield produced a great save to deny the forward.

In the astonishing 6 minutes of added time, which felt like an eternity, Jonathan Page made his second debut for East Fife, signing on deadline day, and looking assured at the back as he helped East Fife see out their win.

Team Colours

East Fife are back in their away kit this week, donning the pink shirt with black shorts and pink socks. The ‘keeper will wear the all yellow kit for the tie.  

The visitors will be clad in their away kit too, and will wear blue and white for the tie, with white shorts. The Rovers Goalkeeper will be dressed in all orange for the match. 

Match Tickets

There will be no cash turnstiles for the game this weekend, and we encourage supporters to purchase their tickets online in advance. You can also get tickets from the club, either in person, or over the telephone at 01333 426323. Parent and Child tickets must be bought directly from the club office.

Season tickets will be valid for the game.

Turnstiles will be open from 2:00pm.

Prices Below:

Adult- £18

Concessions- £14

U16s- £5

Parent & Child- £21

Parent & 2 Children- £24

Officials

Our on-pitch official for Saturday will be Steve Kirkland. His two assistants running the lines will be Colin Drummond and Andrew Bryson. 

Live Stream

Unfortunately for our British and Irish-based support, the match is not able to be watched to UK blocked hours. Luckily for our International support, the game can be watched on EFTV with a monthly or season pass!

Refreshments

The stadium bar will be open from 12.15pm for pre-game refreshments. The pie stalls will open prior to kick-off and will also be open at half time. Pie stalls accept both cash and card payment.

Programme

The Bayview Programme issue 22 is available from vendors outside of the stadium for £2.50. Also, half time draw tickets will be available pre-match.

Match Report - Dumbarton

East Fife travelled west to the Rock to take on 2nd placed Dumbarton. East Fife triumphed 2-0 in last encounter between the sides however Dumbarton prevailed in the other two meeting so far this season. Last weekend, East Fife thrashed Stranraer 8-0 at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium thanks to a Scott Shepherd brace, a couple of own goals and goals from Alex Ferguson, Ryan Schiavone, Sam Denham and Connor Young.

Unsurprisingly, Manager Greig McDonald made no changes to the starting eleven that destroyed Stranraer last time out, but Alan Trouten was free to return to the bench after serving his one game suspension.

In the 3rd minute Dumbarton drove forward with the ball eventually finding the feet of Kalvin Orsi on the right wing who cut inside and unleashed an effort the smashed off the post before being cleared by the East Fife men. 

In the 16th minute, Dumbarton had another chance to take the lead when Wylde played a quick one-two with Byrne to get himself into a shooting position, but his first-time shot was wide of the post, keeping the score at 0-0

Nearing the end of the first half, East Fife had their first real chance of the match when Ferguson’s corner was lifted back into the danger area by Murdoch where is was met by Connor McManus who’s looping header dropped just wide of the post.

HALF TIME: Dumbarton 0-0 East Fife 

In the 56th minute East Fife were awarded a penalty when Shepherd was taken out inside the area by Sons full-back Aaron Lynas. Ferguson stepped up to take the spot kick but was denied by a good save from former Fifer Brett Long in the Dumbarton goal.

Despite the penalty miss, East Fife were now the side in the ascendency and had another opening when Healy cut the ball across goal for Ferguson, but he couldn’t get enough behind his shot to challenge long as Long. 

With 20 minutes to go, Dumbarton took the lead when a long throw from Lynas was deflected through to Martin McNiff, inside the six-yard box, with the Dumbarton man turning a firing the ball home past Fleming, giving Dumbarton a 1-0.

As the game neared the end, Dumbarton are awarded a questionable penalty kick when Denham was adjudged to have fouled substitute McLean inside the box. Fellow substitute Stuart Carswell stepped up to take the penalty for the Sons, but was denied by a fine save from Fleming.

FULL TIME: Dumbarton 1-0 East Fife 

An eventful second half saw the Sons narrowly secure all three points. Fortunately, however, with Stenhousemuir and Forfar Athletic both losing, East Fife remained in fourth and still in that coveted wanted playoff spot. Next up is a home fixture against bottom of the league Albion Rovers.

Dumbarton: Long, Buchanan, Lynas, Grant, McNiff, Wylde (McLean 63’), Orsi, Wilson (Vata 80’), Gray, Blair (Carswell 63’), Byrne

East Fife: Fleming, Murdoch, Steele, Newton, Denham, McManus (Steven 84’), Healy, Walls (Denholm 71’), Ferguson, Schiavone (Trouten 71’), Shepherd (Young 81’)

Referee: Ross Hardie

Attendance: 557

Report by Andrew Laing

Ticket Info v Albion Rovers

Tickets for our cinch League Two match against Albion Rovers on Saturday 29th April at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium are now on sale and can be purchased here. 

Admission Prices

Adults - £18

Concessions* - £14

Under 16s** - £5

Parent & Child** - £21

Parent & 2 Children** - £24

*Over 65s/Full-Time Students/Disabled – proof of age/eligibility may be requested

**Proof of age may be requested.

 All member of East Fife Community Football Club & East Fife Girls & Womens’ Football Club who are under 16 go free with a paying adult or as part of an organised group for all cinch League Two matches at Bayview this season. Tickets for this are arranged through EFCFC.

Full and half-season tickets are valid for this match.

There are no cash turnstiles at Bayview and supporters are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets online. Online sales are available right up until kick off. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone by calling 01333 426323 or directly from the club office.

Please note, parent and child tickets cannot be purchased online and should be bought directly from the club office. 

There is no live stream available for viewers within the UK & Ireland this weekend, however overseas supporters can watch the match via East Fife TV with a monthly or season pass.  

Match Preview - Dumbarton

Oli Anderson previews today’s match against Dumbarton

I still cannot believe that that happened last week! We saw 90 minutes of domination, and a second half which will never be forgotten at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium, on Saturday past. East Fife’s biggest home win since the 1960s gave them a huge boost in the playoff race, in a game which felt like the Fifers picked up 4 points by overcoming their negative goal difference too. Back in the playoff spots, the Methil Men look forward to this week where they travel to Dunbartonshire to face the Sons. Failure to win this afternoon for Dumbarton will hand Stirling Albion the cinch League Two title regardless of the Binos own result against Annan Athletic. As previously mentioned, East Fife romped to an 8-0 victory last weekend, demolishing a disheartened Stranraer side who were most certainly not at the races. Dumbarton played midweek against the league leaders, and the gruelling encounter finished 0-0. Three points for the Sons would have brought them right back into the title race, though now they need a large point and goal difference swing if they want to have any chance at the title.

Form

Dumbarton are on a poor run of form at the minute, only recording 5 points from their last 6 games, though they have picked up four of them in the last 7 days. Three defeats in a row, against other promotion pushing teams, saw them lose their lead at the top of the table, and plummet into the playoff places. They lost 1-0 at the Rock against Forfar Athletic, before missing out on their own patch again against Stenhousemuir. They finally travelled to Galabank where they were beaten for a third time. Their points came through the aforementioned game against Stirling Albion on Tuesday, as well as a 2-2 draw with the league leaders some weeks ago, and a 3-1 win against Bonnyrigg Rose last weekend.

East Fife remain on a strong run of form, recording 11 from their last 6 games, only dropping 7 points in the process. Those came in the form of a 1-1 score draw against now 9^th placed Bonnyrigg Rose, a 2-2 draw against leaders Stirling Albion, and a 1-0 loss to Annan Athletic. McDonald’s men have recorded 3 wins in their last 6, first scoring late against Stenhousemuir to record another comeback victory this season. The game at Ochilview Park saw Scott Shepherd return to the score sheet as he got onto the end of Brogan Walls’ headed cross to tap in the winner. We’ve also seen a routine victory against Elgin City during our Friday Night Football, before last week’s unforeseen score line, as we ran out 8-0 winners against Stranraer.

Last Week’s Performance

In a truly dominating display, East Fife delivered a score line of a lifetime as they dispatched of Stranraer 8-0, at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium. It was the first time since the 1960s that the Fifers have won at home by such a margin. A rampant second half was the difference maker, as the Methil Men scored 6 in the last 45 minutes, against a 10-man Blues side.

It was not all roses however, as East Fife started slowly, and missed a barrage of chances in the first half, with Ryan Schiavone squabbling chances from close range on three separate occasions. On top of this, even though he scored an own goal, which was rather unfortunate, Stranraer goalkeeper Luke Scullion made another 3 great saves across the 90 to keep the score down for the visitors.

East Fife opened the scoring through a Luke Watt own goal after 20 minutes of play, after a killer ball from Connor McManus could not be cleared. Watt converted the cross after trying to block it.

Stranraer’s only chance of the game came 5 minutes later when James Hilton’s chip beat Fleming and the crossbar.

After 40 minutes, the Fife doubled their advantage through Alex Ferguson, whose composed head was able to convert a driven ball that was pinged across the box.

In the first half of stoppage time, Blues defender Scott Robertson was sent off in bizarre fashion after an off the ball challenge on Aaron Steele following a set play.

Half Time: East Fife 2-0 Stranraer.

Five minutes after the restart, Schiavone made up for his missed chances, as he slotted past Scullion to make it 3-0 East Fife. This is when the Black and Gold really took off. The finish also marked Schiavone’s first goal at MGM Timber Bayview this season.

A further ten minutes later saw Shepherd match Schiavone’s feat also scoring his first goal in front of the Methil Faithful this year to make it four, with half an hour still on the clock.

Number five came courtesy of a Luke Scullion own goal, which was created by a fantastic long-range effort from Brogan Walls. The shot ricocheted off the crossbar and hit Scullion before crossing the line.

The sixth was Fife’s easiest of the day, after a very smart run from Sam Denham gave him a free header from a corner, which the centre half converted.

Goals at Bayview have been like London Buses for Scott Shepherd, he has waited all season to open his home tally, and in the penultimate league game at the Timber Fortress, he got two at once, capping off a great team move to make it seven.

The eighth goal was scored in stoppage time, converted by Rangers loanee Connor Young. His shot was so powerful it went through Scullion on its way to rippling the net for his first senior goal.

The win has seen East Fife return to the playoff spots in emphatic fashion, with a performance worthy of promotion.

The everchanging cinch League Two Table:

Position	Team	Played	Points	GD
1.	Stirling Albion	33	67	29
2.	Dumbarton	33	58	10
3.	Annan Athletic	33	50	13
4.	East Fife	33	47	5
5.	Forfar Athletic	33	45	-5
6.	Stenhousemuir	33	44	-1
7.	Stranraer	33	38	-18
8.	Elgin City	33	37	-14
9.	Bonnyrigg Rose	33	35	-15
10.	Albion Rovers	33	33	-4

Squad News

Alan Trouten returns to the squad having now served his suspension. Aidan Quinn also returned to full training this week though it is likely that Saturday has come just too soon for the Montrose loanee.

Previous Encounter

East Fife kept all three points in Methil in the last encounter against Dumbarton after a strong defensive performance allowed the Fifers to overcome the then League Leaders.

It was Dumbarton who had the chances early doors, with Ally Love and Ryan Wallace trying their luck from range, though they were both off target.

Unfortunately for both sides, after 20 minutes, Fife’s Aidan Quinn and Dumbarton’s Gregg Wylde both had to be replaced due to injury. Quinn’s departure allowed room for Kieran Millar to return to the line-up, having missed the previous 2 matches through suspension.

Just 5 minutes later, East Fife broke the deadlock, with Aaron Steele leaping like a salmon and stinging like a bee, to drill his header past Brett Long from Alex Ferguson’s excellent corner kick.

The remainder of the half saw the Fifers contain Dumbarton, not allowing them to put the ball into any dangerous areas. Liam Newton saw his name go in the book, after a challenge on Kalvin Orsi, and in the 45^th minute, Jack Healy went down inside the box, though the referee deemed that he was looking for the penalty, and thus he was shown yellow just before the break.

The second half started as the first half ended, with Dumbarton piling on the pressure, and East Fife remaining firm, and united. Sam Denham was excellent in stopping anything that came in the air or along the ground, and Pat Slattery once again controlled the tempo, marking Ryan Wallace out of the game, rendering the front man useless for the proceedings.

Although they had more of the ball, Fife had the best chance of the first 10 minutes after the restart, with Alex Ferguson’s long-range effort being plucked out of the top corner by ex-Fifer Long.

With 60 on the clock, Dumbarton’s golden chance came, though Fleming was equal to it. Russell McLean’s effort from close range was leathered right into the midriff of the East Fife shot stopper.

The game then died down, with East Fife sponging up pressure, and Dumbarton struggling to find any way to break down the Black and Gold wall. The game deciding moment came in the 89^th minute however, when ex-Fifer Ryan Wallace got his first clear cut chance of the day, standing over a free kick from less than 20 yards out. His effort was only good enough to hit the team bus though, and East Fife survived unscathed.

It went from good to great for the Methil Men in the 93^rd minute too, as they hit the league leaders on the break, Scott Shepherd burst away from his man, and dinked a cross in to youngster Ferguson, whose calm finish was good enough to double their advantage and seal all three points for the second week in a row.

Team Colours

East Fife are back in their away kit this week, donning the pink shirt with black shorts and pink socks. The ‘keeper will wear the all-green kit for the tie. 

The home side will be clad in their away colours too, wearing white for the tie. The Sons Goalkeeper will be dressed in all Grey for the match.

Match Tickets

Note, it is cash turnstiles 1 and 2 in the home end for away entry today. Prices below.

Adults- £15

Seniors (65+)/ Students (with valid ID)- £10

U16s- £5

The Supporters’ Bar will be open from 1.30pm today to both sets of supporters and can be accessed after entering through the turnstiles.

Officials

Our on-pitch official for Saturday will be Ross Hardie His two assistants running the lines will be Scott Anderson and Cameron Stirling.

Live Stream

Unfortunately for our British and Irish-based support, the match is not able to be watched to UK blocked hours. Luckily for our International support, the game can be watched on EFTV with a monthly or season pass!

Admission Info v Dumbarton

Admission for our cinch League Two match against Dumbarton at the Dumbarton Football Stadium will be via pay-at-the-gate.

Admission Prices

Adults - £15

Concessions* - £10

Under 16s** - £5

*Over 65s/Full-Time Students/– proof of age/eligibility may be requested

**Proof of age may be requested.

The stadium bar will be open from 1.30pm and can be accessed after entering through the turnstiles.

There will be no Live Stream for viewers in the UK or Ireland, however for international fans the game can be watched on EFTV with a monthly or season pass.